The Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge will unveil a moving new exhibit this summer, offering visitors a rare opportunity to view personal artifacts from Titanic passengers Isador and Ida Straus — a couple whose devotion to one another has become one of the ship’s most enduring love stories.
On display for a limited time will be two of the Strauses’ most personal belongings: a pocket watch recovered with Isador’s body and a letter penned by Ida while aboard the RMS Titanic. The artifacts will be exhibited before heading to auction in the United Kingdom, where they are expected to fetch more than $1 million through Titanic memorabilia specialists Henry Aldridge and Son.
Isador Straus, co-owner of Macy’s department store, and his wife, Ida, were first-class passengers aboard the Titanic. According to eyewitness accounts, the couple refused to be separated as the ship sank on April 15, 1912. Ida reportedly gave up her seat on a lifeboat, saying, “As we have lived, so will we die, together.”
“We are profoundly moved to share these incredibly personal items belonging to Isador and Ida Straus,” said Paul Burns, curator at Titanic Museum Attraction. “To see the pocket watch Isador carried and the letter written by Ida on the Titanic offers an emotional and powerful link to their love story and the human cost of this tragedy.”
The letter provides insight into Ida’s final days aboard the ship, while the pocket watch — frozen in time — serves as a haunting reminder of what was lost. The exhibit will be open for a limited engagement before the artifacts are auctioned off while still on display in Pigeon Forge.
Andrew Aldridge, managing director of Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd., said the company is “honored to be auctioning these unique items that bear testament to the unbreakable bond that Isador and Ida Straus shared on the Titanic until the very end,” and called the partnership with Titanic Museum Attractions “a meaningful way to share the Strauses’ incredible story.”
The Titanic Museum Attraction is known for its immersive storytelling and extensive collection of Titanic artifacts. In addition to the Straus exhibit, the museum features more than 400 authentic items, detailed recreations of the ship’s interior, and experiences such as touching a simulated iceberg and walking the Grand Staircase.
The museum opens daily at 9 a.m. Reservations are required and can be made online at titanicattraction.com or by calling 800-381-7670.
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(Photos: Titanic Museum)
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